Winter Break Homework for Class IX A in English Subject : 2022-23

1. Read & revise all the chapters taken up in the class & prepare all question- answers.

2. Write a descriptive paragraph on any leader in 120 words.

3. Complete the following story in 120 words.

Last year I visited Agra with two of my closest friends. I got up ......................

4. Write a diary entry in about 120 words describing how you spent your winter vacation.

5. Solve any one question paper of Annual Examination on your self study notebook.

                      .....................

Question-answers of the Chapter : 9- Bholi

Page No 54:

Question 1:

Why is Bholi’s father worried about her?

ANSWER:

Bholi’s father is worried about her as she had neither good looks nor intelligence. He did not know how he would find a suitable groom for her.

Page No 54:

Question 2:

For what unusual reasons is Bholi sent to school?

ANSWER:

The tehsildar had performed the opening ceremony of the primary school for girls that had just opened in Ramlal’s village. He told Ramlal that as he was a representative of the government in the village, he should set an example for the villagers by sending his daughters to the school. When Ramlal discussed this matter with his wife, she said that if girls were sent to school, no one would marry them. Since Ramlal did not have the courage to disobey the tehsildar, his wife suggested that they should send Bholi to the school. She felt that as there were little chances of her getting married with her ugly face and lack of sense, she might as well go to the school.

Page No 55:

Question 1:

Does Bholi enjoy her first day at school?

ANSWER:

Bholi finds everything new at the school. She feels glad to see many girls of her age present there. She is fascinated by the bright colours of the pictures on the walls. She cries when she keeps stammering on being asked her name. However, she notices how kind the teacher is and finally, manages to speak her name. She is given a book by the teacher. The teacher behaves with her like no one had ever done, thereby filling her with confidence. At the end of her first day at school, her heart is throbbing with a new hope and a new life.

Page No 55:

Question 2:

Does she find her teacher different from the people at home?

ANSWER:

Yes, she finds her teacher different from the people at home. Her teacher is very kind and speaks to her affectionately. She does not scold or command her, but encourages her in a soothing voice. She tells her that in time, she will be more learned than anyone else in the village, and no one will ever be able to laugh at her. People will listen to her and respect her. This fills Bholi with a new hope.

Page No 58:

Question 1:

Why do Bholi’s parents accept Bishamber’s marriage proposal?

ANSWER:

Bholi’s parents feel that if they do not accept Bishamber’s proposal, she may remain unmarried all her life. Her mother says they were lucky that Bishamber is from another village and hence, does not know about Bholi’s pock-marks and her lack of sense. Moreover, he has not even asked for any dowry. Hence, Bholi’s parents accept the marriage proposal.

Page No 58:

Question 2:

Why does the marriage not take place?

ANSWER:

The marriage does not take place because Bholi refuses to marry Bishamber. When the groom sees that her face is covered with pock-marks, he declares that he will marry her only if her father pays him a dowry of five thousand rupees. Bishamber does not budge from his stand in spite of repeated pleadings by Ramlal. Finally, Ramlal places the dowry amount at the groom’s feet. Consequently, when Bishamber is about to place the garland around Bholi’s neck, she strikes out her hand and the garland is flung into the fire. She says that she is willing to marry that man only because of her father’s honour. However, on seeing that the man is mean, greedy and contemptible, she has decided not to go ahead with the marriage.

Page No 62:

Question 1:

Bholi had many apprehensions about going to school. What made her feel that she was going to a better place than her home?

ANSWER:

Bholi felt that she was going to a better place than her home where she got the treatment that she had never got before. New clothes had never been made for Bholi. The old dresses of her sisters were passed on to her. No one cared to mend or wash her clothes. However, before being sent off to the school, she received a clean dress. She was even bathed, and oil was rubbed into her dry and matted hair. It was then that she began to believe that she was being taken to a place better than her home.

Page No 62:

Question 2:

How did Bholi’s teacher play an important role in changing the course of her life?

ANSWER:

Bholi’s teacher played a very important role in changing her life. She was the first one to have spoken to her affectionately. She encouraged her to speak out her name without any fear. She gave her a book, thereby aiming to inculcate in her the desire to learn. She told her that in time, she would be more learned than anyone else in the village, and no one would ever be able to laugh at her. People would listen to her and respect her. This filled Bholi with a new hope.

Summary & Question-answers of the Chapter: 10- The Book That Saved the Earth with question-answers

The Book that Saved the Earth Summary

The story begins with a stage show of twenty fifth century in which a historian is sitting in the museum and she explains the truth about the Martian invasion that happened in twentieth century. To prove her statement she asks the audience to look into the historiscope, a device that can show things happened in the history.  In the next scene two characters are shown one of them which has a balloon brain is shown as the master. His name is Think Tank and another one is his assistant Noodle. Both of them are discussing about their plan to invade earth. They think that earth is a ridiculous plan and they should invade earth so as to establish their kind rule over the planet. So, the master think tank sends one of his crew to inspect earth. The crew lands into a library and look confuse as they know nothing about the items (books) of the library. So, they consult it with their master Think Tank that they think is very intelligent. He asks them to show the item and tells them that they are sandwiches which is a staple diet of the earthlings. He commands his crew to eat it, which they then consider as a tasteless eatable. His assistant Noodle corrects him and tells him that they are the communication devices. He on hearing this, asks his crew to listen to the information from the devices. They try to hear it but they get nothing to hear from them. Once again Noodle corrects his master Think Tank that they are to be read and not hear. So with the help of the vitamins provided by the chemical department of Mars, the crew tries to read the book. It was a book of rhymes.Page No 63:

Question 1:

Why was the twentieth century called the ‘Era of the Book’?

ANSWER:

The twentieth century was called the ‘Era of the Book’ because in those days there were books about everything, from anteaters to Zulus. Books taught people ‘how to’, ‘when to’, ‘where to’ and ‘why to’. They illustrated, educated, punctuated and even decorated.

Page No 63:

Question 2:

Who tried to invade the earth in the twenty-first century?

ANSWER:

The Martians tried to invade the earth in the twenty-first century.

Page No 65:

Question 1:

What guesses are made by Think-Tank about the books found on earth?

ANSWER:

The first guess that Think-Tank made about the books found on earth was that they were sandwiches. He told Captain Omega that they were standing in a refreshment stand. He also said that sandwiches were the main staple of Earth diet. He then ordered them to eat one of the books. When Sergeant Oop ate it, he told them that it was not delicious, and that it was as dry as Martian dust. Then, Think-Tank suggested that the books were in fact communication sandwiches, and ordered them to listen to them. When they could not hear anything, he suggested that the books were not meant for ear communication, but for eye communication.

Page No 74:

Question 1:

Noodle avoids offending Think − Tank but at the same time he corrects his mistakes. How does he mange to do that?

ANSWER:

Noodle avoided offending Think-Tank, but at the same time he corrected his mistakes. Whenever he had to say something contrary to what Think-Tank said, he would present his thoughts by referring to them as being of no particular importance. In this way he would correct Think-Tank’s errors without making him feel that he was being corrected.

Summary of the poem Anne Gregory

Summary of the poem

The poem is basically a conversation between the poet, Yeats and a young girl named Anne Gregory. The poet tells her that if she finds a young boy who becomes sad because of her rejection, it doesn’t mean that he was a true lover. He could have been in love with her because of her beautiful yellow hair. This means that the boy might be in love with her because of her attractive looks. He says that a true lover will be the one who will love her for her inner qualities and not her looks. To this, Anne says that she will change her looks by dying her hair into some other colour. She will become less attractive and then, maybe, she will find a true love for herself. So, at last, he explains to her that the previous night, he had heard some religious man saying that only God loves us for what we are. This means that God never loves us for our looks but for our inner beauty.

Summary & Question- answers of the Chapter : 10- A strange Wrestling Match with the concerned video

Summary

I

Vijay Singh was a famous wrestler. He was tall like a giant. He had big shoulders and muscular arms. He was a born wrestler.

But Vijay Singh had one weakness. It often pushed him into trouble. He was given to self praise and tall talks. He once said that he was not afraid of ghosts. He wished to face a ghost and teach him a lesson. A

man guided him to the Haunted Desert. That place was ten miles on the road to Jaisalmer. The ghosts had often looted and killed travellers.

Vijay Singh accepted the challenge. He got ready to set out west. An old woman came forward and put a packet into his hands. It contained an egg and a piece of salt. The old woman was known to be crazy.

As Vijay Singh entered the Desert, he heard the voice of a ghost. He called himself, Vijay’s friend, Natwar. Vijay Singh tried to be brave. He called the ghost to come out of the darkness. Looking into Natwar’s face, Vijay Singh called him a weak liar. He showed no signs of fear. The ghost felt insulted.

II

Vijay Singh proceeded to test the ghost’s strength. He offered him a piece of stone and asked him to squeeze the liquid out of it. The ghost tried hard but failed. Vijay Singh secretly crushed the egg and the yellow part flowed out. He gave the ghost another piece of rock to crush. The ghost failed the test again. Vijay Singh crushed the lump of salt. The powder tasted saltish.

The ghost then planned to kill Vijay Singh secretly. He took Vijay Singh to his cave and offered him a luxurious bed to sleep on, complete with pillows. Vijay Singh saw through the ghost’s trick. He put a round pillow on the bed and he sat himself in a corner. The ghost at break of day struck the pillow seven times. He was happy now. He thought he had killed his enemy. Vijay Singh then returned to his bed. He began to groan as if in disgust. The ghost was shocked to hear the noise. Vijay Singh told the ghost that his cave was filled with insects. He was sleeping soundly when that insect came to trouble him. The ghost got panicked and fled.

Vijay Singh returned to his village with all the treasure left behind by the ghost. He married the old woman’s granddaughter. He gave up boasting. No traveller was thereafter looted or killed in the Haunted Desert.Page No 46:

Question 1:

What was Vijay Singh’s weakness? Which awkward situation did it push him into?

Answer:

Vijay Singh’s weakness was that he was fond of boasting. This weakness put him into the awkward situation of going alone into the Haunted Desert at night to meet a ghost.

Question 2:

Was the old woman’s gift to Vijay Singh eccentric? Why?

Answer:

The old woman’s gift to Vijay Singh was eccentric or unusual because it contained nothing but a lump of salt and an egg. Both of these were not enough for one travelling through a desert.

Question 3:

Why did Vijay Singh ask the ghost disguised as Natwar to come closer?

Answer:

Vijay Singh asked the ghost disguised as Natwar to come closer because he had realized that he was not his friend, but a ghost. He wanted to have a better look at the ghost, and like all good wrestlers, he wanted to size up his opponent.

Question 4:

What made the ghost speechless? Why?

Answer:

The ghost was speechless because Vijay Singh had called him a “plain, lying ghost”. The ghost was used to people starting back in horror when they met him; but Vijay Singh had insulted him.

Question 5:

Why did Vijay Singh say “Appearances can be deceptive”?

Answer:

Vijay Singh said “appearances can be deceptive” because both he and the ghost were pretending to be someone else. Vijay Singh was pretending to be a brave and fearless wrestler and the ghost had pretended to be Natwar Singh.

Page No 51:

Question 1:

How did Vijay Singh use the egg? How did he use the lump of salt?

Answer:

Vijay Singh demonstrated his strength to the ghost by making him believe that the egg was a lump of rock filled with fluid, which he could crush. He did the same with the lump of salt, which the ghost thought was a rock containing salt. The ghost was mesmerised by this show of the pahalwan’s strength.

Question 2:

Why did Vijay Singh conclude that the ghost would not be a worthy opponent to him? Was he fair in his judgement?

Answer:

Vijay Singh concluded that the ghost would not be a worthy opponent to him because the ghost was not strong enough to be able to crush the fluid-filled and salt-filled rocks. He was not fair in his judgement because he had fooled the ghost into believing that the things he had crushed were rocks.

Question 3:

Why did Vijay Singh ask the ghost to accompany him to town next day?

Answer:

Vijay Singh asked the ghost to accompany him to town the next day because he wanted to display the ghost as his trophy of victory.

Question 4:

What made the ghost believe Vijay Singh was dead?

Answer:

When the ghost hit the bolster on the bed with a stout club, he did not hear even a groan. This made him believe that Vijay Singh was dead.

Question 5:

Vijay Singh complained of insects in the cave. What was he referring to, and why?

Answer:

When Vijay Singh complained of insects in the cave he was referring to the blows which the ghost had given to the bolster kept on the bed. He did this to make the ghost accept that he was a strong and formidable wrestler.

Question 6:

Was it really a ghost who Vijay Singh befooled? Who do you think it was?

Answer:

The ghost’s cave contained the wealth that he had collected by looting and killing the people travelling through the Haunted Desert. So in reality, he could have been a robber who had disguised himself as a ghost for scaring and over powering innocent travellers.

Summary & Question-answers of The Chapter : 10- The Banyan Tree with the concerned video

Summary of The Banyan Tree

Part I

A boy who came to live with his grandparents became the owner of a large old banyan tree that housed squirrels, snails and butterflies. A squirrel became his friend on the tree. They became so friendly that the squirrel started taking tit bits of food from his hand. In spring, the tree was the noisiest place in the garden with a variety of birds chirruping on it.  The boy made a rough platform on which he used to sit and read adventurous books during hot summers. From here, he also watched the world under the tree. One day he watched a fight between a mongoose and a cobra while sitting on the tree.

 Part II

Because of the hot summer  everyone was indoors. The boy was thinking of going to the pond and have a swim with the buffaloes and Ramu. Suddenly,  a huge black cobra and a mongoose came out. The cobra was aware of the superb fighting skills of the mongoose. However, the cobra was no less. He was also fast and had sharp fangs of deadly poison. None of them knew that the boy was watching them. Other than the boy, two other spectators, a myna and a crow were also watching them from the clump of cactus. The mongoose opened the attack. The crow and the myna also joined them in the fight and attacked at each other in the air but returned safely to the cactus twice. The third time, the myna returned safely but the crow was hit  by the cobra. The injured crow fell on the ground. The fight between the mongoose and the snake was still continued. Finally,  the mongoose defeated the snake. The snake resigned and stopped struggling. The mongoose dragged and pushed it  inside the bushes. The myna was watching all this. It gave a congratulatory shrill and flew away.

Page No 131:

Question A:

A. Complete the following sentences.

1. The old banyan tree “did not belong” to grandfather, but only to the boy, because

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

2. The small gray squirrel became friendly when

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

3. When the boy started to bring him pieces of cake and biscuit, the squirrel

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

4. In the spring, the banyan tree _________________________________, and

___________________________________ would come there.

5. The banyan tree served the boy as a _____________________________

__________________________________________________________________

6. The young boy spent his afternoons in the tree

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

ANSWER:

1. The old banyan tree “did not belong” to grandfather, but only to the boy, because the grandfather at sixty-five could no longer climb it.

2. The small grey squirrel became friendly when he found that the boy did not arm himself with catapult or air-gun.

3. When the boy started to bring him pieces of cake and biscuit, the squirrel grew quite bold and was soon taking morsels from the author’s hand.

4. In the spring, the banyan tree was full of small red figs, and birds of all kind would come there.

5. The banyan tree served the boy as a library.

6. The young boy spent his afternoons in the tree when it was not too hot.

Page No 132:

Question B:

1. “It was to be a battle of champions.” (8)

(i) What qualities did the two champions have? Pick out words and phrases from the paragraph above this line in the text and write them down.

Mongoose

Cobra

(a) ___________

(a) ___________

(b) ___________

(b) ___________

(c) ___________

(c) ___________

(ii) What did the cobra and the mongoose do, to show their readiness for the fight?

2. Who were the other two spectators? What did they do? (Did they watch, or did they join in the fight?) (10)

3. Read the descriptions below of what the snake did and what the mongoose did. Arrange their actions in the proper order. (11, 16)(i)

Ceased to struggle

 

Grabbed the snake by the snout

(ii)

Tried to mesmerise the mongoose

 

Dragged the snake into the bushes

(iii)

Coiled itself around the mongoose

 

Darted away and bit the cobra on the back

(iv)

Struck the crow

 

Pretended to attack the cobra on one side

(v)

Struck again and missed

 

Refused to look into the snake’s eyes

(v)

Struck on the side that the mongoose pretended to attack

 

Sprang aside, jumped in and bit

4. (i) What happened to the crow in the end? (16)

(ii) What did the myna do finally? (17)

ANSWER:

1.

(i)

Mongoose

Cobra

(a) superb fighter

(a) skilful

(b) clever

(b) experienced

(c) aggressive

(c) swift

(ii) To show its readiness for the fight, the cobra hissed defiance, its forked tongue darting in and out. It raised three of its six feet off the ground, and spread its broad, spectacled hood. The bushing of its tail and the standing up of the long hair on its spine showed that the mongoose was also ready for the fight.

2. The other two spectators were a crow and a myna. They settled on a cactus to watch the outcome. But they did not just watch. They tried to join the fight by hurling themselves at the cobra.

3.

Snake

Mongoose

(ii) Tried to mesmerise the mongoose

Refused to look into the snake’s eyes

(vi) Struck on the side that the mongoose pretended to attack

Pretended to attack the cobra on one side

(v) Struck again and missed

Sprang aside jumped in and bit

(iv) Struck the crow

Darted away and bit the cobra on the back

(iii) Coiled itself around the mongoose

Grabbed the snake by the snout

(i) Ceased to struggle

Dragged the snake into the bushes

4.

(i) In the end, the crow was flung nearly twenty feet across the garden by a blow from the cobra’s snout. The crow fluttered about for a while and then lay still.

(ii) Finally, the myna dropped cautiously to the ground, hopped about, peered into the bushes from a safe distance, and then, with a shrill cry of congratulation, flew away.

Summary & Question-answers of The Chapter : 9-What Happened to the Reptiles with the concerned video

What happened to the Reptiles Summary

This lesson is a story of religious harmony depicted through reptiles who lived in the village of Pambupatti and retold by an old man to a boy named Prem who suffered religious riots in his village and while running to save his life reached Pambupatti. Prem, the narrator of the story was so scared of the riot incident that he was not willing to go back to the place. An old man shared the story of Pambupatti to change his mind.Pambupatti was the land ruled and lived by reptiles alone. Makara was the crocodile who ruled the forest. He was the most powerful amongst all and was the biggest in size. One day, Makara held a meeting of the reptiles, misusing his power told the tortoises to leave the forest as they were stupid and slow.After a few months, he repeated the order for snakes to leave the forest. Gradually, he told every animal to leave the forest except crocodiles. No one could ever dare to go against his orders and question him. After some time all the animals left. Consequently, very weird things started happening in the forest. The forest was full of foul smell and the rats and insects started coming out. Seeing the plight of the jungle, other crocodiles made a decision to call back all the animals of the forest .All the animals came back and the forest was back to normal again.Hearing this , Prem changed his mind and thought of going back to his village and sharing all this with his people to help them have a better perspective of living together in harmony and to understand the unique role of each person in the society.

Page No 42:

Question 1:

In what way is Pambupatti different from any other village?

Answer:

Pambupatti was different from other villages because many kinds of people lived there—dark, fair, tall, short. They spoke many languages. Some ate meat, some did not. Some prayed in a small temple at the edge of the forest. Others prayed in a mosque some miles away.

Question 2:

Why is Prem determined not to return to his village?

Answer:

Prem was determined never to return to his village because he burned with shame at the hate and violence in his village.

Question 3:

Why did Makara dislike tortoises, snakes and lizards? Write a line about each.

Answer:

Makara disliked tortoises because he thought they were slow and stupid, and they carried their houses on their backs. He disliked snakes because according to him they were slimy and made funny noises. The reason he disliked lizards was because they had the strangest habits and some of them even changed colours.

Question 4:

What went wrong when the tortoises, snakes and lizards left the forest?

Answer:

When the tortoises, snakes and lizards left the forest, everything went wrong. Awful things began to happen. The dead bodies of animals started rotting, and the smell of rot spread all over the forest. The rats grew bolder by the day. The frogs grew bigger and started eating the baby crocodiles. The insects were there in millions, and they were growing bigger and nastier by the day.

Question 5:

Why do you think Prem wants to tell the story of the reptiles to the people of his village?

Answer:

Prem wanted to tell the story of the reptiles to the people of his village so that they would realize their mistake. He wanted them to stop hating each other and put an end to the violence.